Larry Bragman, a city councilmember in Fairfax, California, has this op-ed in the May 27 issue of the Marin Independent-Journal about California’s Proposition 14, the top-two measure on the June 8 ballot.
Bragman is a member of the Green Party.
Larry Bragman, a city councilmember in Fairfax, California, has this op-ed in the May 27 issue of the Marin Independent-Journal about California’s Proposition 14, the top-two measure on the June 8 ballot.
Bragman is a member of the Green Party.
Results during the 1998 and 2000 blanket primaries show that minor party candidates did better in the primary than the general election, in those cases where the primary was not deciding nominees (one candidate from each party). Presumably voters felt freer to express a true preference in the primary, but were squeezed in the general election.
When there was an actual nomination race in the blanket primaries – some voters would choose the contest where their vote might have an effect. There were a great deal more minor party candidates for legislative and congressional offices than there are now. Independent candidates for legislature and congress occur in under 1% of races.
In 2008, many Green Party voters changed their registration so that they could vote in the Democratic presidential primary. And registering as a Green voter is currently pointless because there are rarely if ever any primary contests.